Dave Bakke: Motto turned T-shirt helps an old friend

Larry Selinger and Steve Rockford have much in common. Both were successful high school coaches. And both are faced with serious illness.

By Dave BakkeStaff Writer

Larry Selinger and Steve Rockford have much in common. They have known each other since they grew up in the same Springfield neighborhood. Both have successful backgrounds coaching high school sports in Springfield. And both are faced with serious illness.

Larry had cirrhosis of the liver and underwent a transplant April 6. Steve was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in 2012. Both men travel to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis for treatment.

Now, there is something else they have in common. It begins with a motto.

Notre Dame football players have a tradition. As they leave their locker room for the field, they reach up and touch a sign that says, “Play Like A Champion Today.” But that's not the motto that Larry and Steve share. Theirs is “Did I Do Enough Today?”

Larry came up with it while waiting for his transplant. It inspired him. He made signs with the slogan and put them where he could see them every day.

“It was a way to get through the process,” he says. “There were steps I had to make, people around me had to make. There were times I needed to walk or exercise and didn't feel like it. But I've got this sign, and it's very prominent in my house. I'd look at it and say, ‘God bless it, get off your rear end.' ”

Larry gave stickers with the motto to his children. He encouraged them to look at it every day as he did.

“I told them to put it on their mirror in the bathroom,” he says. “So when they were brushing their teeth, there'd be someone looking back at them, and that person would know if they did enough. You can't lie to that person.”

When Larry was a kid, his dad was frequently away from home because he traveled a lot in his job. Larry says that, with his father on the road so much, Steve Rockford's parents practically raised him. They fed him, gave him rides to games and let him hang out at the Rockford house just down the street from his.

Steve and Larry go so far back that Larry says, “I knew him when he came out of his mother's womb.” Larry has been supporting Steve as Steve struggles with the debilitating effects of ALS.

Another Springfield man, Lenny Naumovich, owner of Primo Designs, has known Larry for a long time. “My kids grew up with his, played ball with his kids,” Lenny says.

Among its services, Lenny's company designs T-shirts. Lenny combined that with his friendship with Larry, Larry's empathy for Steve and the “Did I Do Enough?” slogan to do something special.

“I told Larry, ‘Let's make a T-shirt with that on it,' ” Lenny says. “Larry's a huge Notre Dame fan. And Steve Rockford's uncle, Paul Reynolds, played there. I said, ‘We'll make the shirt look like the sign in the Notre Dame locker room. We'll use the same font. We'll put a shamrock on it.' ”

It's in the same colors as the Notre Dame sign. The front of the shirt reads, “Fight Like The Irish.”

Primo also designed a rubber wristband with “Did I Do Enough Today?” on it. Profits from wristband and T-shirt sales will be given to Steve Rockford and his wife, Tammie, to help defray the expenses they face.

“The guys here at Primo, they did the work,” Lenny says. “They created a video, and it's on YouTube. There's a website for the shirt (primodesigns.net/theshirt/Products). I said to Larry, ‘We'll make this go viral. We'll make rock stars out of you two guys.' ”

The shirt has been out for a couple of weeks, and more than 400 have been sold. Approximately 10 Springfield and area schools have ordered them. Benedictine University baseball coach Steve Torricelli is giving them to players at his summer camp. Sacred-Heart Griffin, Pleasant Plains, Southeast, Springfield and Rochester high schools have all bought them.

“We took an order from one of Larry's former players who lives in Nashville,” Lenny says. “He ordered 100. I told (Larry and Steve) our goal is 10,000. We're just getting started.”

“It's getting out there,” Larry says. “People are wearing them in California, Florida, England, Tennessee. It's spreading around, and it couldn't be for a better cause.”

Know of something quirky? Emotional? Funny? Inspiring? Dave Bakke is your man and his deadline is always near. Pitch your idea to him at dave.bakke@sj-r.com or 788-1541. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. To read more, visit www.sj-r.com/bakke.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Information

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The State Journal-Register ~ Street address: One Copley Plaza (corner of Ninth Street and Capitol Avenue), Springfield, ILMailing address: The State Journal-Register, P.O. Box 219, Springfield, IL 62705-0219 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service